Research Guides: Dance Research Guide: Find Books

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Purpose

This guide highlights some of the library's materials and online sources for conducting research in Dance. If you are new to research, try using one source from each tabbed area to familiarize yourself with the variety of materials available for dance research.

This guide is not comprehensive; it does not list all of the resources in this or related disciplines owned by the Library or available on the Internet. This guide serves merely as a starting point for research.

Dictionaries and encyclopedias

International Encyclopedia of Dance (online)
From the minuet to the tango to kabuki theater to square dancing, all types of dance around the world and throughout history are covered a fully searchable online encyclopedia. With nearly 2,000 articles written by scholars from over fifty countries, the International Encyclopedia of Dance offers authoritative coverage of the full spectrum of dance. Fully searchable and cross-referenced with authoritative lists of references for each article and more than 2,000 illustrations.
International encyclopedia of dance
Call Number: REFERENCE GV1585 .I586 1998. [6 volumes]
Nearly 2,000 articles written by scholars from over fifty countries cover all types of dance around the world and throughout history. Extensivehistorical and cultural overviews of many nations appear along with articles on specific dance forms, music and costumes, dance performances, biographies of dancers and choreographers, and much more. A list of references accompany each article. This valuable resource is available both online and in print.
International Dictionary of Ballet
Call Number: REFERENCE GV1585 .I57 1993 [2 volumes]
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
The Encyclopedia of Dance and Ballet
Call Number: REFERENCE GV1585 .E53 1977b
The Oxford dictionary of dance (online)
Call Number: Ebook, Read Online - Print also available: REFERENCE GV1585 .C78 2010
With over 2,600 entries, this second edition includes detailed entries on technical terms, steps, styles, works and countries, in addition to many biographies of dancers, choreographers, and companies. The history of dance companies and their productions, technical terms, as well as developments in the rise of new digital technology in the creation and staging of dance and the move to the mainstream of formerly fringe genres such as hip-hop are treated.

Bibliographies

Research in Dance: Guide to Resources
Call Number: REFERENCE GV1594 .B66 1994
Sections on library collections and archives, reference sources, serials, reviews, and indexes. This is a useful overview of the literature.
Dancers and Choreographers: A Selected Bibliography
Call Number: REFERENCE GV1785 .A1 D36 1995
Covers ballet and modern dance as it developed across the US, England, Canada and Australia. Entries reference all English-language periodicals in which the dancer or choreographer appears. Birth and death dates are also given for each dancer when known, plus dates in which the dancer flourished.
Dance: An Annotated Bibliography, 1965-1982
Call Number: REFERENCE GV1594 .F67 1986
Bibliographic Guide to Dance by New York Public Library. Dance Collection
Call Number: REFERENCE GV1580 .B5
Library owns years: 1975, 1981
The Music and Dance of the World's Religions: A Comprehensive, Annotated Bibliography of Materials in the English Language by E. Gardner Rust
Call Number: Music Listening Room ML128 .S17 R87 1996
Publication Date: 1996-08-30
Very comprehensive.

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Dance Research Guide